1. Field of the Invention
The apparatus of the present invention relates to fabric bulk bags and more particularly into an improved bulk bag having a floor portion which includes a pair of spaced apart pockets for receiving a rigid member to define a channel through which tines of a forklift may enter. This application incorporates by reference the application entitled “Improved Bulk Bag With Support System” by the same inventor, filed on Dec. 5, 2002 bearing Ser. No. 10/310,476.
2. General Background and Description of the Invention
While incorporating the patent application as referenced above, in his efforts to improve his bulk bag, applicant ran several tests on bags and became enthused by the results. This bag that applicant became aware of was constructed which concentrated on a plastic channel design and how to hold that channel into place. The bag design that applicant witnessed showed good promise in this direction but needed several design changes to eliminate weak points and allow for consistent bag manufacturing. Further, the bag design witnessed by applicant called for puncturing the bag in order to anchor the channel. Applicant believed this caused product leakage and was unacceptable to most in the commercial market. The above-referenced bag design was disclosed in International application entitled “Bulk Bag” by inventors Von Merveldt, et al., filed on Feb. 6, 2004 bearing International Filing No. PCT/IB2004/000297. FIG. 1 in this application illustrates one of the bags made from that design, entitled “Prior Art.”
Additionally, applicant is aware of the Liftsystems patent that requires an elastic material to hold the tubes in place as well as several design channels which address the pressure that the channel must withstand. The basic form of the bag design that was witnessed by applicant will not require elastic to hold the channels in place.
However, the tube described in that bag fails to take into account the tremendous pressures that are applied against them whenever the bag is suspended by its loops. The Liftsystems patent, on the other hand, described a much more robust channel.
Patents and published applications will be cited in an Information Disclosure Statement submitted by applicant.
Applicant began concentrating on a bag design that would hold the channels in the correct place and restrict the bottom of the bag from sagging downward. That bag design is the subject of the present invention.